Death Comes Unshaven
by YamiPaladinofChaos
Summary: [Crossover with Bleach] Death is final for everyone. Well, except for Sesshomaru, who keeps screwing things up.


Disclaimer- Neither Inuyasha or Bleach belong to me.

A/N- Spoilers for past chapter 182 of Bleach.

"What... where the fuck am I?"

Inuyasha blinked, placing a hand on his chest reflexively- after all, just a few moments ago, there was a rather large hole in it, thanks to Naraku. He got the bastard back though, slamming Tessaiga into his heart.

"Well, you're dead buddy."

The hanyou turned and jerked to see a tall, unshaven man with black hair standing straight up staring at him. He was wearing a jet black kimono and hakama tied with a white sash, with a white undershirt beneath. At his side was a katana, which immediately made Inuyasha uneasy.

"Who the fuck are you!" Inuyasha demanded. "And what the fuck do you mean_ I'm dead_!"

"The name's Isshin Kurosaki. I'm a Shinigami." He replied easily, and scratched the back of his head, looking rather uncomfortable. "Uh... you remember that big, gaping hole in your chest? Yeah, that was also poisoned. So you sort of died."

Inuyasha was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment.

"Bullshit!" for a moment, anyway.

"It's true." Isshin shot back defensively. "Anyway, I've gotta send you to the afterlife." Isshin shrugged, and placed his hand on his katana. "Hanyou spirits tend to go Hollow a whole lot faster than humans, so that's why I'm here, not those imp messengers. God, we really need to get rid of those things..."

Reflexively, Inuyasha's claws immediately went for Tessaiga... which was not there.

"Where the fuck is my sword!"

"... with your body." Isshin replied slowly, shaking his head as he rubbed his temple. "You really don't get the concept of being dead, do you?"

"But... Kagome..." Inuyasha trailed off. "She... I mean..."

"_Don't die Inuyasha!"_ she was crying... oh no, he hated it when she cried...

Isshin smiled sympathetically. "Its hard... but... well, you know. Death is sort of final."

He paused, as if considering something.

"Except for that brother of yours," the Shinigami added, scowling, "Son of a bitch keeps fucking with the natural order. That goddamn sword of his is a pain in the ass." Isshin paused again. "Wait... don't tell me your brother's going to save you again? Do you know the paperwork he caused when he revived that human girl? Christ, you wouldn't believe how many Shinigami were running around trying to find her soul."

Inuyasha laughed harshly. "Yeah, like that asshole is actually going to save my life. He's been trying to kill me since probably before I was born."

"Tough break. Really, if I ever have a kid, I'm going to make sure he takes care of his siblings." Isshin commented airily, hand drumming a light beat on his katana's hilt.

They were silent for a while.

"Hey... am I going to Hell?" Inuyasha asked, his voice somber.

Isshin blinked, and then laughed loudly. "No! You saved the world, saw the goodness in people, found love and friendship... Hell, you're probably going to end up in a nice part of Rukongai."

"Oh... well, that's a relief. What about... what about Kagome?" Inuyasha's throat clenched. "I mean... I died."

"Girl's heartbroken, yeah. But again, except for that brother of yours, death is kind of the final frontier. No turning back." Isshin said empathetically, nodding his head, scratching his chin.

"Couldn't you just... put me back inside my body?" Inuyasha asked, grasping for straws.

Isshin gave him an amused, arched eyebrow in response. "Yeah. Alright, I'll put you back inside a body that's being rotted away by poison from the gaping hole in its chest. So you can possess your own _dead_ body."

Inuyasha frowned. "I see your point." He sighed, another thing uncommon for him. Death was changing him already. "Can I say goodbye?"

Isshin cocked his head to the side, looking uncomfortable. "I suppose. Come on, I'll take you to where your friends are." He grabbed Inuyasha's arm, and suddenly they were gone, rushing through the air with impossible speed.

Inuyasha felt the skin- _wait, skin? I'm dead though-_ on his face rippling from the speed, his body shaking underneath the pressure.

When they finally stopped, Inuyasha let out a low groan, gasping for air. "What the fuck was that!" he demanded breathlessly.

"Oh. That's shunpo. Sorry, shouldn't have gone so fast." Isshin said apologetically, not affected by the movement at all.

"Ya think?" Inuyasha said harshly, panting.

Isshin wasn't looking at him any more.

Inuyasha turned his head to see what the Shinigami was seeing, and his breath hitched. "Kagome..."

She was crying still, her cheeks blotchy, her normally bright, earthy eyes dulled with redness, clutching a weeping Shippo to her chest. Sango stood next to them, hand on Kagome's shoulder, tears dry as she tried to be strong for her friend. Kirara curled around Sango's feet, head bowed low.

Miroku stood apart from them, eyes closed, his face a mask of serenity. Only the tremors in his clenched fist told of the inner turmoil.

And at the center of them... his body.

Complete with the gaping hole in his chest. The offsetting feeling of seeing his own _dead body_ disoriented Inuyasha, but he couldn't stand to look at his friends any more.

"Poor girl," Isshin said sorrowfully, shaking his head slowly. "This is the part of the job I hate."

"Will... will she be okay?" Inuyasha asked, sounding a bit desperate.

"I don't know her all that well. You should probably ask that question to yourself." Isshin replied easily, taking his eyes off the scene.

"She'll be okay." Inuyasha murmured, straightening his posture, nodding. "She's stronger than this. She'll be fine... eventually. They'll look after her."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Isshin asked archly.

Inuyasha shook his head. "I fucking hate saying goodbye. Besides... she understands." His voice was soft, just for a moment. "You know, I never thought I'd end up dying first. Always figured I'd have to put up with living the longest."

"Kind of puts a tragic twist on your story, doesn't it? Seeking vengeance and eventually dying for it?" the Shinigami mused, idly tapping the hilt once again.

"I didn't die for vengeance." Inuyasha said tersely, and said no more. He turned away from the sight of his body, of his friends, of Kagome.

The Shinigami nodded, taking the words to heart. "Ready to go then?" Isshin questioned, removing his katana with slow, practiced grace.

Inuyasha nodded, but paused after a moment. "Just one question."

Isshin looked at him quizzically. "What?" he asked curiously.

"Naraku's not going to be there, right?"


End file.
